The invention relates to a conveyer wherein bottles or other containers moving in a single row are rearranged to continue movement in several rows at reduced velocity. Conversely, the apparatus is adapted to rearrange containers that are moving abreast of each other in multiple rows so that they converge into a single row at increased velocity.
There is prior art apparatus for accomplishing the functions set forth in the preceding paragraph. In one type of apparatus wherein containers such as bottles are rearranged from single rows to multiple rows, the containers move on several parallel conveyer belts, some of which move at different linear velocity than others. For instance, the containers that are coming into the rearrangement area in a single row are buried on the conveyor belt that has the highest speed. A deflector or guide rail is situated above this conveyor and is properly angulated for deflecting incoming containers laterally or crosswise onto one or more adjacent slower moving conveyer belts and then onto a group of belts that are running at the same linear velocity and upon which the containers continue abreast of each other. Although deflection by the guide rails from the first conveyer to the next is in a rather predictable course, later the movements of the containers are rather random and they are spread across the final uniform speed conveyors largely by colliding and pushing each other. These random movements and repetitive collisions cause generation of undesirable noise. In addition, if the containers have labels they are sometimes damaged by the collisions which is obviously undesirable.
In another type of prior art of apparatus for rearranging containers from several rows into a single row, there is a slowly traveling supply conveyor, and intermediate conveyor rotating with gradually higher speed and a rapidly traveling discharge conveyor. These conveyors are inclined slightly transversely to their direction of travel. The transfer of containers from the supply to the discharge conveyor takes place by means of an incline conveyor against which all bottles come up. Inclination of the conveyor is solely for eliminating tipped-over bottles by letting them role off. This prior art apparatus is shown in German Laid Open Specification No. 30 04 259.